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15
PHYSICAL, GEOLOGICAL, AND OTHER FEATURES.
The surface generally is gently undulating, flatter in
the southern and more thickly inhabited portions, but rising
to a higher elevation in the more northern parts. Ilford is
situated on the London clay, but this only comes to the
surface as a narrow strip running almost due East and West
through the middle of the district. In addition, there is a
large patch to the North-West, as exemplified in the names
of Clayhall and Claybury.
There is a large square area of brick-earth lying roughly
in the angle between the junction of the Romford Road with
the Ilford Lane, extending down the Romford Road nearly
as far as St. Mary's Church, and down Ilford Lane nearly to
Uphall Farm.
The rest of the subsoil is gravel.
Ilford is one of the largest Urban Districts in the County
of Essex, and, as will be seen from the map, the population
is largely concentrated in the South-Western portion of the
district. So that, this South-Western portion is Urban in
character while the remaining larger portion is still Rural.
Being within seven miles of London, a large proportion of
the inhabitants earn their living in the City, going there in
the morning and returning at night. The population mainly
belong to the lower middle class, occupying houses of from
£20 to £40 a year, with a proportion of other classes.